Pelosi to House Dems: Get Ready to Pass Dream Act

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told Democrats on Monday to get ready to pass the Dream Act that will provide a pathway to citizenship for “millions” of so-called Dreamers.

In her “Dear colleague” letter, Pelosi said that “in the weeks ahead,” she will bring the Dream Act to the floor along with the Equality Act, which will provide civil rights protections to the LGBT community.

Roll Callreported last week that Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) will be the lead sponsor of the “Dream and Promise Act of 2019” and is scheduled to introduce the bill on March 12. Pelosi said she has reserved bill number H.R. 6 for the “Dream and Promise Act,” which will reportedly give a pathway to citizenship to “millions of Dreamers” in addition to the “roughly 800,000 who have had legal protections under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals [DACA] program.”

In addition, the bill will also reportedly extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to those from Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, and El Salvador while providing Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) protections for refugees from Liberia.

Last year, Pelosi said one of her top priorities for this Congress would be the the Dream Act for “patriotic Dreamers.” In September of 2017, Pelosi even indicated that President Donald Trump “would sign” it if Congress sends him a bill.

“We made it very clear in the course of the conversation the priority is to pass the DREAM Act. That we want to do it in — obviously it has to be bipartisan. The president said he supports that, he would sign it,” Pelosi said then. “We have to get it passed. That’s our high priority.”